circle7 | an apple a day

There came a sharp rapping on the metallic door. ~~Spoke the raven, nevermore.~~

It was near mechanical in its precision, a steady one-two-three beat fit for a quick-time waltz but lacking all the feeling and expression to make it anything akin to music. It did fit in with the whirring and slight hum of machinery that always existed on the ship - the dull, metal white noise of a its gears and engines doing good work, a constant reassurance that no one was going to get thrown into zero-gravity or sucked into the nothingness of space. It was too loud and too localized, though, for it to be mistaken as part of the regular background.

"Doctor," said the knocker, perfectly spaced between two series of three-note beats, though he stopped right after the last knock-knock-knock following the word. It wasn't a common voice to hear around the sick bay area of the ship, but it wasn't one Bentley hadn't heard before. Calibri sounded quietly commanding as normal, if a little more impatient given the bitten off end to the 'R' of Bentley's title. "Doctor, I am in need of your assistance."

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A little furrow appeared between Calibri's brows. "I was not aware you were so desperate for company that you would seek mine out."

No one sought him out.

"Perhaps you should arrange another on-planet visit to certain downtown establishments with the Dominico siblings again."

The corner of Bentley's mouth twitched.

"You... know about that?"

"About what, in particular, are you referring to?" Calibri asked, canting his head.

Oh god, he knows multiple things.

"Nothing," Bentley said, something displeased in his expression. He cleared his throat. "Anyway. Chess? Checkers? I've got Pictionary, or..."

"Truth or dare?" Calibri added, light glinting off his glasses. "Never Have I Ever. The King's Game," he continued, sounding almost bored as he listed off the options, all of which happened to be...drinking games, oddly enough. Calibri hardly seemed to be the type to indulge in liquor, though, so why was that? "I don't have much interest in those sorts of things," he concluded at last. "Is it in your health regimen to keep me awake and occupied as well?"

The doctor fidgeted in his seat, setting the tablet in his lap and crossing his arms.

"I'm no idiot, Calibri. You plan to leave as soon as I turn around, don't you?" he said, rather than asked. "It's not just you. Many of you are too impatient to sit and rest. It seems to be a symptom of being a Circle 7 member. I don't blame anyone, what with important duties to tend to, but do you know how many of them I have to treat again in their follow-ups? How many I have to assign physical therapy? Almost all of them. Now, which is more of a hassle: resting for a few simple days, or coming back several times a week for a month for therapy or more procedures?"

Calibri slowly raised his head and fixed Bentley with a blank and long stare.

It was very blank.

And very long.

Bentley stared back.

It was very pitiful.

"I-I stand by what I said, Mr. Calibri," he stammered. Falling victim to that stare could only be human. "But you're no fool. You know I can't force you to stay. I just suggest it. Highly."

"And attempt to keep me entertained with party games," Calibri corrected, settling back upon hearing Bentley's unease, as if that calmed him. He settled a less antagonistic look on the Doctor, who, ultimately, had helped with a very messy situation and who ultimately deserved some humoring of his own. "Very well, you pick your favorite game. I'm not very accustomed to playing them."

Rather than question or explain, Bentley just nodded. The game wasn't for his own sake, but it certainly couldn't hurt to get to know Calibri over a game of chess.

...Could it?

Bentley set his tablet aside, getting up and pulling something from under a nearby cabinet. It was an old-fashioned, wooden chess set. (Old-fashioned, because digital ones were all the rage in this day and age.) He set the board on the table at Calibri's bedside, beginning to set up the pieces.

"Do you know how to play?"

"No," said Calibri, although he seemed to look on with interest as Bentley laid out the board and the pieces in order, both because of the antiquity of the set and because of the novelty of the game. "Boss has never asked to play this one," he explained, which, really, was the entire situation concerning Calibri and any game whatsoever in a nutshell.

"Ah. Well, there's a lot of rules, but we'll keep it simple," he said, looking happy with himself once he finished arranging the pieces. Bentley gave himself the white pieces, and Calibri the black. "The player with the white pieces go first. These here are pawns." He picked up the simple, rounded piece that lined the first row, and set it two squares ahead of where it first was. "They can only move forward, and only attack diagonally. They also can only move one square, unless they're still on the beginning row."

Calibri's eyes were scanning the board, flitting over all the individual pieces. "The objective of the game?" he prompted, jumping right to the point.

"To claim the other person's king," he said, pointing to Calibri's king piece.

He picked the piece with gloved fingers, turning it over in his hands with a wry smile. As far as the pieces went, the King wasn't even particularly unique - not as ornate as the Knight, not as tall or versatile as the Queen. After a moment, he set it back down carefully, the movement so measured and light that the enameled wood didn't even click as it hit the playing board.

"Tell me the rules as we go along," he instructed, settling back. Bentley had said his pieces would go first. "I will postpone leaving until after this game, then. That should be sufficient."

Well, it was better than nothing.

"If you win, I'll let you go," Bentley bet. "If not, well. You'll probably go anyway, won't you?"

With an easier smile that before, Bentley made his move, sitting back.

an apple a day

HE KNOWS, BENTLEY

NO...!!!

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Can trail off here if you don't want to RP the game. (I don't know how to play chess haha.)

yeah it'll prolly get convoluted and tough to keep up with 8'D